Discovery Acquires Exclusive Rights In Italy For Africa Cup Of Nations
December 2, 2021
Discovery Italia has acquired the exclusive rights to the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), with fans able to stream all 52 matches live on discovery+ from 9th January 2022.
As part of a whole month of live football on discovery+, the two top AFCON teams will face off against one another in the final on 6th February 2022 at the Olembè Stadium in Yaoundè, the capital of Cameroon and the host nation.
In the agreement, brokered by the AGON agency, matches will be shown on discovery+, with key fixtures, including the final, also shown live on Eurosport, bringing the biggest game in African football to the widest possible audience in Italy.
The title holders Algeria made history by winning their second AFCON title in front of 75,000 fans in 2019 and ‘The Greens’ will be challenged by 23 other nations in six groups of four teams in the battle to retain their title. The first two nations in each group will qualify for the elimination phase, with the four best third-placed teams completing the round of 16.
There is a huge global interest in the Africa Cup of Nations that over the years has become more and more popular with fans from all over the world, aided by some of the best African players enjoying their club football in the main European leagues, including Serie A, with Napoli’s star players such as Kalidou Koulibaly, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Victor Osimhen, ‘Milanisti’ Ismaël Bennacer and Franck Kessie to Bologna’s Musa Barrow and Torino’s Wilfried Singo. There is also a plethora of the greatest African players involved in the 2021 AFCON currently playing in the Premier League such as Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Riyad Mahrez to name a few, as well as La Liga’s Youssef En-Nesyri and Ligue 1’s Achraf Hakimi.
“We are very pleased to host such a prestigious sport event on discovery+, further enhancing our premium sports offer, that represents content of absolute value for our subscribers. discovery+ will be the destination for all fans of this fascinating and iconic competition, brightened by the many champions performing in our Serie A league.
“It kicks off a huge year of sport on discovery+ Italia with some of the biggest events including the Australian Open tennis and the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 following soon after, offering fans unrivalled streaming access to the widest range of world-class competitions.” said Alessandro Araimo, CEO of Discovery Italia.
“The status and prestige of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations is clearly demonstrated by the demand of its continent from our media rights holders and partners. We are confident that the Cameroon edition will once again provide great entertainment to millions of football fans across the world. We welcome on board Discovery Italia, Eurosport and we are looking forward to a successful partnership in January and February 2022.” said CAF General Secretary, Veron Mosengo-Omba.
The Africa Cup of Nations kicks off on 9th January with Cameroon vs. Burkina Faso at 18:00 CET and Ethiopia vs. Cape Verde at 21:00 CET, with the final on Sunday 6th February, which will also be broadcast on Eurosport as well as streaming on discovery+.
